


Some Rest

by Lanerose



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-13
Updated: 2004-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-28 23:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6349543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanerose/pseuds/Lanerose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed's missing, but (for once) it's nothing dire.  Story based on an image in the third opening sequence of the 2003 anime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Some Rest

"Mustang." The Flame Alchemist said carelessly as he answered his ringing office phone. Usually Hawkeye would be screening his calls for him, but he had at last ordered her to take a night off, having assured her that Havoc would see him safely home and what did it matter anyway since the forecast called for clear skies? Apparently the man in question had either never realized that Riza's job included answering the phone, or had simply decided to ignore the secretarial work. Given the hour, it probably wouldn't matter, anyway.

"Hello, Colonel?" The tinny quality of the voice on the other end may have simply been the effect of a bad connection, but the sound of the voice itself suggested otherwise.

"Alphonse?" Roy replied, relaxing minutely. At least it wasn't Bradley or (please, no!) Gran calling to request some sort of favor. Still, the animated suit of armor tended to prefer letting his brother contact him whenever the need to do so arose.

"Yes, hi." Alphonse replied hesitatingly. "I was just wondering… ummm… you wouldn't happen to have… do you know… the thing is… is my brother there?"

Roy blinked. Fullmetal, here? The boy avoided his office like the bloody plague. He replied smoothly, "No, Fullmetal hasn't been in today. Is there a problem?"

The other end of the line stayed quiet for a moment.

"Well, it's just… you see…" Roy could picture the boy at the other end of the line, hemming and hawing, one hand bunching up the apron attached to his suit, the other holding the phone carefully so as not to break it. He straightened, feeling his muscles re-stretch themselves. Perhaps this evening wouldn't be as quiet as he had planned.

"What happened, Alphonse?" Roy interjected drolly when at last he could no longer tolerate the boy's dancing around the subject.

"He's missing." The bound soul blurted out.

Roy didn't bother fighting the wince that crossed his features as the younger one wouldn't be able to see it over the phone anyway. Perfect, absolutely perfect way to end the day… and after he'd promised Hawkeye that there would be no problems while she took a night for herself. She'd kill him.

"Missing how?" He inquired at last as he pressed the intercom button to signal for Havoc. When the taller man entered, Roy gestured vaguely at the spare phone linked to the connection he was using. The blond crossed the room swiftly and picked up the receiver as Mustang continued, "When was the last time that you saw him?"

Havoc raised an eyebrow at him, puffing idly on his cigarette. Roy mouthed 'Fullmetal' at him, and when that didn't seem to work, he rose to his feet and passed his hand flatly across the open air in front of his chin. Havoc snorted, his lips moving voicelessly to express just what he thought the boy in question would do if he ever saw the Colonel indicate him in such a way. Roy understood perfectly, of course, but some things simply weren't worth dignifying.

"Yesterday morning, right after we left your office, Colonel." Alphonse replied. Interesting… Edward did many foolish things, but leaving his brother alone for extended periods of time was usually not one of them. He checked the clock on his wall – just after midnight, and Fullmetal had left his office at nine thirty… that meant he'd been missing almost two days… practically long enough to file a missing person's report. Where was Hughes when he needed him?

"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Roy demanded calmly, sitting once more in his chair. No need to worry quite yet, after all. After a moment's consideration he added, "Did he mention anything to you?"

"Well…" Alphonse began, hesitating slightly. Alphonse's thinking process bordered on audible as he mentally turned over the last time he had seen his older brother. At last, the echoing voice continued. "I think he may have mentioned something about a book."

"You think he may have mentioned…?" The colonel replied, working hard at keeping the derision strong enough in his voice to cover the worry. Havoc turned from the window to look at him – clearly not successful, then. Damn it. Of all the days for the Elric brothers to have this sort of a meltdown…

"Well, you know how brother can be some times, especially when he's excited about something." The boy's voice continued to echo funnily. Roy suppressed a sigh and paid close attention for any pertinent information that might result. "He had just had some sort of idea, I think, I don't really know what about, but all of a sudden he jumped up from the chair he'd been sitting in at the National Library and dashed off. He yelled something over his shoulder, but I didn't catch it, and I haven't seen him since, and – "

"Alphonse." Roy interrupted. The receiving end of the phone went silent. Roy paused a moment before continuing, "Have you looked anywhere for him?"

Roy checked the clock again as Alphonse exploded with information about how he had – of course! – already looked in all of the usual places. Elysia would be in bed by now, and for all that Hughes loved his daughter, her sleeping habits – also known as 3AM screaming – hadn't really done much to aid her father. If he called right after he and Alphonse disconnected, presuming Hughes solved the puzzle as quickly as Roy didn't doubt that he would, the man would get maybe two good hours of sleep tonight. Maybe not, then. A tired Maes could definitely be qualified as a bad thing.

Hawkeye might have been able to help… Roy stomped on the thought even as it started to form.  **He**  was the one who had insisted she deserved a night off, and he absolutely refused to ruin it for her. She'd skin him tomorrow, but nothing could really prevent that at this point.

"Alphonse!" He broke in suddenly as a thought struck him. "Did you check the National Library before you left?"

"I – " Alphonse began, then paused for a moment. Roy suppressed a sigh, splaying his left hand idly across his face as he leaned on his elbow and waited for the boy to continue. "I guess I thought Brother would come back with whatever it was he had needed if it were still in the library."

Roy looked at Havoc, who shrugged ambiguously. Perfect.

"Where are you, Alphonse?" Roy asked after a moment, stretching back in his chair. A quick shift ensured that each pocket still contained one of his usual gloves. While he very much doubted that they would be needed, it never hurt to be prepared. Alphonse rattled off his location, and, with swift instructions to remain where he was, Roy hung up the phone and rose to his feet.

"You do know Hawkeye's going to kill you tomorrow, right?" Havoc asked as he followed his superior out the door. Roy didn't bother to dignify the question as he casually threw on his coat. Behind him, Havoc shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "All right, but for the record, I was against this plan."

Roy toyed idly with the idea of frying the man and leaving him to lie wherever he fell, then decided against it. Instead, he arched a brow superiorly as he replied with a smirk, "I'll be sure to mention that you thought it appropriate to leave Alphonse extremely concerned and one of my subordinates missing. Likewise, you can be sure I'll remember this the next time you can't be found."

Havoc sighed, and Roy's smug expression raised itself a notch. Victory. As if there had ever been a doubt. Roy had never once lost to the other man, he certainly didn't intend to start now.

The ride to the Elric brothers' dorm passed swiftly, Havoc driving carefully, as usual. Roy pondered idly as he stared out the window that the early days of having the man as his chauffer had been a great deal more entertaining. Then a certain blond officer who would remain unnamed had… spoken… with the man. The rides had been smoother since, to be sure, but a great deal less exciting.

Alphonse was waiting when they arrived, and after a bit of maneuvering, had managed to seat himself within the vehicle. He stammered out his gratitude about how wonderful the colonel was to take time out of his busy day and to come at such a late hour, and he really couldn't understand what had gotten into his brother's head, and – well, Roy didn't really know the rest. The trip from the dorm to the library was a mere matter of blocks (coincidence, he thought not), and Roy found it easier to ignore the babbling then to try to find a point in it. Havoc's knowing glance in the rearview mirror demonstrated all too clearly that he saw through the forced expression of polite interest on his commander's face.

When at last they arrived at the National Library, darkness completely blanketed the building. Roy could feel Alphonse's eyes upon him as he pulled his State Alchemist's watch from his pocket and presented it to the guards on duty, careful to keep it close enough to be seen and far enough to prevent it from being touched. The light of the armor's eyes dimmed, the head lowered, and Roy couldn't help but wonder if the moment of their first meeting burned as sharply in the younger one's mind as it did in his own. The times over the years when he had needed to demonstrate his status were limited – military access got him most everywhere, and military work left him little time for research. He replaced the object as quickly as possible, shaking himself free of the image of a small and bloodied child as he strode into the building.

"You two head upstairs and search the upper floors, working your way down. I'll start at the subbasement and head up. If you find him, return here and wait." Roy said. Alphonse nodded swiftly and began climbing the stairs immediately. Havoc stayed to give him a distinct look for a moment which Roy answered with one of his own before opening his arms expansively and following the empty suit. Hawkeye's wrath was already a given, might as well deal with this as expediently as possible.

Roy descended the stairs quickly and opened the door to the far subbasement with practiced ease. He headed straight to a spot that he himself had favoured back in the days before his goals in the military became more important than other pursuits. As he neared it, Roy easily spotted the odd shadows thrown by the small desk lamp that graced the table in the deserted corner. With forced attention to detail he shoved the real smile from his face before turning around the last bookshelf blocking the alcove from view.

Roy struggled but succeeding in suppressing the gasp that entered his throat as he got his first good look into the corner.

The Fullmetal Alchemist was seated at the table as he had expected. Books surrounded him, dwarfing the small (for regardless of what Edward might claim he most certainly was small) boy. His automail hands turned pages swiftly, leafing first one direction, then back the other, then forward again. None of this surprised Roy overly much, no, rather it was as he'd expected. The rest of the picture presented by the child was what he had neglected to allow for.

Edward leaned heavily upon his left arm, supporting his head with his hand as though he hadn't the strength to hold it upright. Truthfully, Roy wouldn't have been surprised if that were the fact of the matter. The boy's eyes blinked sleepily even as they flickered back and forth across the page his body bent so closely over. More importantly, though, even as Roy stepped steadily closer, the boy seemed not to notice him at all.

"Fullmetal." Roy said sternly. His voice echoed in the empty and silent darkness. A blond head jerked upwards, glancing wildly around the small enclosure before at last coming to rest upon the colonel. The deep, dark circles under the boy's eyes heightened his pale appearance. The boy stared at him vacantly for a moment, then turned back to his books, flipping pages again.

"Fullmetal." Roy repeated, closing the gap between himself and the table quickly. The boy didn't seem to even hear him, mumbling to himself in an incomprehensible whisper as he reached for a different book. Roy planted his arm firmly on the table between the younger alchemist and his book - - the boy ignored him.

"Edward!" He nearly shouted at last, reaching out to shake his subordinate quickly by the shoulders. The boy's body resisted for a moment, then caved in to the motion forced upon it. Ed's left hand slipped from its position under his head. Deprived of its perch, Ed's head rolled forward and back with his shoulders, lolling limply until Roy saw fit to stop.

"Colonel?" Drained and exhausted, Ed's voice scarcely surpassed a whisper, but its presence granted Roy enough relief that he could regain his usual you'd-better-believe-I-know-everything smirk. Roy started to remove his hands from the boy's shoulder, but stopped as he realized Ed's nose would likely impact with the desk the minute he let it.

"You're brother's worried about you." Roy replied simply, pushing Ed back into the chair before pulling it away from the table. "I would have thought even someone of your minute height would be able to read the clock. Perhaps in the future it would be best to avoid piling books in stacks taller than yourself."

"Who are you calling too short to…" Ed began, eyes narrowing in fury as he roused himself to anger. The words died, though, and Fullmetal blinked oddly for a moment before settling for leveling a glare at the colonel.

Roy walked around the chair the boy had seated himself in, and leaned carelessly against the table, his back to the books. Then he gestured imperiously back in the direction he had come. Edward looked at the books before him for a moment. Roy counted backwards from ten and was unsurprised that Ed's glare leveled itself at him halfway to zero as the boy realized that with the colonel standing where he was it would be physically impossible for Ed to reposition his chair at the table.

Ungracefully, the Fullmetal Alchemist rose to his feet and staggered towards the exit. Roy waited a moment. Then he closed the book on the table, clicked off the light, and followed the young alchemist.

Ed pulled himself determinedly up the staircase, and Roy made certain to stay close on his heels… Even Ed wasn't foolish enough to try to defy a direct command while Roy was still in the building, but the way the boy tripped on the even surface of the subbasement floor suggested he might find the stairs a challenge.

Halfway up, Ed finally slipped backwards, as Roy had suspected he would. Without a comment, he caught the boy, who from the safety of his arms looked torn between surprise, gratitude, and irritation. Wordlessly, Roy reached into his pocket and put on a glove before scooping the diminutive alchemist into his arms. He doubted anyone would hurt them – they stood, after all, in the National Library, long after normal hours ended and the librarians went home – but presuming Ed remembered this and ever mentioned it to Hawkeye, he would need the excuse of a ready defense.

"Colonel –" The boy protested, but stopped when he saw the expression on Roy's face. With a sigh, he relaxed against the soft material the older man's coat, mumbling something that could have been interpreted as a thank you.

For someone so small, the Fullmetal Alchemist certainly weighed enough to match his title, Roy observed idly to himself as he lugged the boy up the stairs. The slight unbalance of weight distribution clued him into the precise phenomenon responsible for it. For all the advances that had been made through the years, automail still forced its wearers to bear more of a load then usual.

Alphonse and Havoc were nowhere to be found when Roy re-entered the first floor of the library. He carried his burden over to the predetermined meeting point, then set it on its feet. Ed wavered for a moment, and grabbed hold of a nearby shelf for support, but managed to keep himself upright.

Roy raised an eyebrow at the child, and pondered the merits of simply ordering him to sit. Then, carelessly, he drew out a chair from a nearby table and threw himself lackadaisically into it, yawning as he stretched his arms over his head and allowed them to droop where they would. It had, after all, been a long day. Fullmetal looked at him for a moment curiously, then pulled back a chair of his own and flopped into it, allowing his arms to cradle his head upon the table. Roy snorted quietly to himself as he thought, 'Good boy'.

"Brother!" A voice exclaimed, followed immediately by the sound of clanking armor running. Ed pulled himself upright once more, but the tense grip of his automail hand on the table belied the illusion of strength he struggled to put forth. Alphonse babbled scoldingly at his brother for vanishing, Ed merely standing still and looking somewhat apologetic. Havoc quirked his mouth at Roy, who scowled in response because yes, quite frankly, he could stand if he felt like it, he simply chose not to.

Roy cleared his throat, rising to his feet. He glanced at the brothers, waiting until he was sure he had their attention, then stared obviously at the exit. Alphonse nodded once, squaring his shoulders.

"Let's go get some rest, okay, Brother?" He said in a tone that clearly brooked no argument. Roy allowed himself a bit of a real smile as he wondered not for the first time who actually was the older brother, anyway. Ed nodded vacantly, released the table, and started for the door.

Roy had to give him credit, really. He managed to get a good ten feet before his legs would carry him no further and he tilted forward. Luckily, Alphonse had been hovering, and caught him with ease. Miraculously still awake, Ed attempted to reassure his brother that yes he was fine, and no, he didn't need a doctor, and –

Roy cleared his throat again, once more drawing all eyes. Havoc had come immediately to stand squarely at his back, he observed suddenly. Now  **there**  was something worth mentioning to a certain lieutenant who worried far too much for her own good.

"If I may make a suggestion?" Roy said, his smirk never slipping. There was no way Fullmetal would like this idea, but the colonel had a sneaking suspicion he might be too tired to resist.

Moments later, Edward leaned against the cool metal of the armor that housed his brother's soul, his legs supported by his brother's strong arms as Alphonse leaned forward enough to prevent Ed from having to do any work in terms of balancing himself. Together, the three able-bodied beings crossed the courtyard between the library entrance and the guard outpost. By the time they reached the far end, though, they had hit yet another snag.

"Umm.." Alphonse began, as they stood next to the car. He glanced quickly at the being now sound asleep on his back, then back at the car. Alphonse looked up and down the street before meeting Roy's eyes once more. "If it's all right with you, Colonel, I think we'll walk home. It's only a few blocks, after all."

"Boss." Havoc said, and Roy nodded. His subordinate really had been quite patient, all told. Still, it was one thing to search the library for a missing alchemist, but having found said alchemist… Even in dry weather, the streets in this neighborhood contained too many of the Flame Alchemist's enemies for Roy to be able to stroll around it freely, especially at this hour. Alphonse, on the other hand, should have relatively few problems.

"Good night, Alphonse." Roy said, opening the door to the backseat of the car. Alphonse turned back to his brother's superior from where he stood a few feet down the road. The light reflected oddly off the moon high above them, and Roy reflected that perhaps it would be worth whatever happened with Hawkeye the morning…

"Good night, Colonel. Thank you." The bound soul said before turning and clanking off into the distance, his brother resting light and oddly soft seeming against his strong back.

Yes, Roy reflected as Havoc drove slowly enough for them to follow the pair all the way back to their dorm, it was worth it…

After all, some things really did only happen once in a blue moon.

**Epilogue:**

"Colonel!" The voice echoed in a sharp and knowing way though the office, only to be met by silence. Riza Hawkeye turned to the nearest member of staff, Sergeant Major Fury, who smiled nervously at her.

"Oh, you didn't know?" He asked innocently. She glared at him disapprovingly and he stuttered out, "The Colonel and Second Lieutenant Havoc have taken the day off."

Riza spared him a semi evil look before sitting at her desk and making plans for tomorrow.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a gift for Lady Lore. When she first saw it, there was the following exchange:
> 
> Lady Lore: So wait, this was supposed to be a story about Ed and Al. Where did Roy come from?
> 
> Lanerose: I dunno. All of a sudden he was just there, screaming "Write me, Write me!" and what choice did I really have?
> 
> Roy: (with great dignity and disdain) It's your own fault, really. I haven't had a lot of screen time in your fics lately.
> 
> Lanerose: XD


End file.
